Vehicular data exchange system and method therefor

ABSTRACT

A vehicular data exchange system including a plurality of computer terminals and a processor. Each computer terminal includes an input device for inputting vehicular data and a display device for visually displaying inputted vehicular data, which includes vehicular characteristics data units and vehicular financial data units. The processor controls vehicular data whereby vehicular characteristics data units and vehicular financial data units inputted are transferred therebetween. A method of implementing the present invention is also described.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/752,078, filed Jan. 28, 2013, which is continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/625,067, filed Jan. 19, 2007, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/090,379, filed Mar.25, 2005, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/370,935, filed Aug. 9, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,433, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/885,175, filed Jun.30, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,776, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a vehicular data exchange system.More particularly, the present invention is directed to vehicular dataexchange system so that users of the vehicular data exchange system can,within a brief time period, simply and easily exchange vehicle data withone another for the purposes of buying and selling motor vehicles and/orobtaining appraisal data for motor vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In order to better serve a prospective automobile buyer, both new andused selling car dealers often must be willing to accept a trade-invehicle from the prospective buyer or risk losing that prospective buyerto a competitor. Unfortunately, some trade-in vehicles are a particularmake and model that are unfamiliar to the selling car dealer. To providethe prospective buyer with a trade-in value, the selling car dealer musteither guess at an appropriate trade-in value of the trade-in vehicle,ascertain a general value of the trade-in vehicle as published in a“blue book” or contact a competitor which is familiar with the value ofthat type of make, model and year of the vehicle.

Each of these options has drawbacks for the selling car dealer. Guessingat the value of the trade-in vehicle usually results in one of twooutcomes. Either too high of a value afforded to the trade-in vehicleresults in loss of income to the dealer or too low of a valuediscourages the prospective customer who might shop for a new vehicleelsewhere. The “blue book” provides only a generalized value of thetrade-in vehicle. Also, a subscription to the current “blue book” isexpensive and the “blue book” becomes obsolete within a short period oftime. Contacting a competitor is time consuming and often frustratingbecause even if the competitor extends the courtesy of returning atelephone call to provide an appropriate trade-in value figure, it mightbe hours or even days after the prospective customer has already leftthe selling dealer's premises. Further, the competitor is typicallyproviding only his best estimate of the trade-in value of the trade-invehicle and not often is the competitor interested in tendering a buyfigure for the purpose of purchasing the trade-in vehicle from theselling dealer.

After the selling dealer sells the customer a new or used car, thetrade-in vehicle can either be placed on the used or “pre-owned” car lotof the selling dealer for resale, taken and sold at an automobileauction or sold to an automobile wholesaler. When the trade-in vehiclefails to sell within a set period of time, for example, ninety (90)days, the selling dealer would most likely remove the vehicle from theused car lot and either deliver it to an automobile auction or sell itto a wholesaler to maintain a fresh inventory of used cars. Typically,the wholesaler dictates the purchase price of the trade-in vehicle whichthe wholesaler is willing to pay. Sometimes this results in a financialloss to the selling dealer.

Occasionally, an unscrupulous used car manager might accept monetary“kickbacks” from a wholesaler for selling car lot vehicles unwanted bythe selling dealer to the wholesaler at an exceptionally low price. Suchan exceptionally low price results in further financial loss to theselling dealer.

There is a need in the automobile sales industry to provide a vehicleexchange system whereby a selling dealer can rapidly and convenientlysell or obtain sales price information on used or trade-in motorvehicles. It would be beneficial if a prospective customer of theselling dealer remains on the premises while bids or sales priceinformation are being solicited and obtained from other automobiledealers. There is also a need in the automobile sales industry toprovide a vehicle data exchange system whereby users to the vehicle dataexchange system can rapidly and conveniently provide a firm buy figureto the selling dealer offering the trade-in vehicle of the prospectivecustomer. It would be beneficial to selling dealers to minimize the useof automobile wholesalers in order to obtain the maximum dollar amountfor the trade-in vehicle from those users of the vehicular data exchangesystem.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicular data exchangesystem so that users to the vehicular data exchange system can exchangevehicle data with one another for the purposes of buying and sellingmotor vehicles and/or obtaining appraisal data information for motorvehicles.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehiculardata exchange system so that users thereto can quickly and convenientlyexchange vehicle characteristics data and vehicle sales price-data.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a vehiculardata exchange system whereby vehicular data can be exchanged within atime period during which a prospective customer of the selling dealerremains on the premises.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide avehicular data exchange system that could minimize or even eliminate theuse of automobile wholesalers.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a vehiculardata exchange system which would yield firm buy figures from otherautomotive dealers within minutes from the time the vehicularcharacteristics data are disseminated from a selling dealer.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide avehicular data exchange system capable of transmitting vehicularcharacteristics data units such as make, model and year of the vehicleto only those users interested in receiving such data.

Yet still further, another object of the present invention is to providea vehicular data exchange system that requires a minimum of time and aminimum of effort for a user to input vehicular data into the system.

Accordingly, a vehicular data exchange system of the present inventionwhich is adapted for use to exchange vehicular data relating to avehicle is hereinafter described. In its broadest form, the vehiculardata exchange system includes a plurality of computer terminals and aprocessor. Each of the computer terminals includes an input device forinputting the vehicular data and a display device for visuallydisplaying the inputted vehicular data. The vehicular data includesvehicular characteristics data units such as make, model and year of avehicle and vehicular financial data units such a buy figure orappraisal figure.

The processor controls the vehicular data whereby the vehicularcharacteristics data units inputted into a first one of the computerterminals are transmitted to a plurality of other ones of the computerterminals for display on respective ones of the display devicesassociated with the other ones of the computer terminals. The processoralso controls the vehicular data whereby vehicular financial data unitsinputted to at least a responding one of the other ones of the computerterminals in response to the vehicular characteristics data unitsdisplayed on the display device of the at least responding one of theother ones of the computer terminals are transmitted to the first one ofthe computer terminals for display on the display device associated withthe first one of the computer terminals.

The present invention also is a method of exchanging vehicular data of avehicle. The method of the present invention includes inputtingvehicular characteristics data units of the vehicle into a datainquiring computer terminal, processing the vehicular characteristicsdata units by transmitting the vehicular characteristics data units to aplurality of responsive computer terminals for display thereon,inputting vehicular financial data units into at least one of theplurality of data responsive computer terminals in response to thevehicular characteristics data received by the responsive computerterminals and transmitting the vehicular financial data units to theinquiring computer terminal for display on the inquiring computerterminal.

The method of the present invention also includes the processing thevehicular characteristics data units by selecting select ones of theplurality of the data responsive computer terminals to which thevehicular characteristics data units are transmitted. The method alsoincludes repeating transmission of the vehicular characteristics dataunits to the select ones of the plurality of responding computerterminals until the select ones of the data responding computerterminals receive the vehicular characteristics data units. The methodof the present invention includes repeating transmission of thevehicular characteristics data units to the select ones of the pluralityof responding computer terminals which occurs upon expiration of a firstpredetermined period of time and stopping the repeating step uponexpiration of a second predetermined period of time which is longer thanthe first predetermined period of time.

These and other objects of the present invention will become morereadily appreciated and understood from consideration of the followingdetailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicular data exchange system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a processor for controlling exchange ofvehicular data by employing the vehicular data exchange system of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a sample display screen shown on a display device of thevehicular data exchange system of the present invention formatted forrequesting a buy/appraisal figure for a vehicle with vehicularcharacteristics data units listed thereon;

FIG. 4 is a sample display screen shown on the display device of thevehicular data exchange system of the present invention formatted forresponding to the requested buy/appraisal figure for the vehicle withvehicular characteristics data units listed thereon; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating how the vehicular data exchangesystem of the present invention operates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A vehicular data exchange system 10 of the present invention isgenerally introduced in FIGS. 1-5 and includes computer hardware andsoftware. The vehicular data exchange system 10 is adapted for use toexchange vehicular data, as more particularly described below, relatingto a vehicle such as an automobile, a truck, a motorcycle, an earthmoving vehicle, a boat, an airplane or the like. However, the vehicularexchange data system of the present invention shall be described, by wayof example only, for exchanging vehicular data for vehicles typicallysold at automobile dealerships. It would be understood by a skilledartisan that each automobile dealership would be electronicallyconnected to the vehicular data exchange system by a computer terminal.

With reference to FIG. 1, the vehicular data exchange system 10 of thepresent invention includes a plurality of computer terminals 12 a-12 fand a processor 14. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciatethat the computer terminals 12 a-12 f represent an entire network ofmany computer terminals. Each of the computer terminals 12 a-12 finclude an input device 16 shown, by way of example, as a computerkeyboard for inputting the vehicular data into the vehicular dataexchange system 10 and a display device 18, commonly known as a computermonitor, for visually displaying the vehicular data inputted into theplurality of computer terminals 12 a-12 f. Therefore, the computerterminals 12 a-12 f are associated with respective ones of input devices16 a-16 f and display devices 18 a-18 f. Generally, the vehicular datainclude vehicular characteristics data units and vehicular financialdata units as discussed below.

The processor 14 controls the vehicular data that is inputted into thecomputer terminals 12 a-12 f. An illustration of the operation of thevehicular data exchange system 10 of the present invention is best shownin FIG. 1 by viewing the arrows which represent the vehicular data. Thevehicular 9 characteristics data units are inputted into a first one ofthe computer terminals 12 a by the input device 16 a and are thereaftertransmitted to the processor 14 as represented by arrow “A”. From theprocessor 14, the vehicular characteristics data units represented byarrows “B” are then transmitted to a plurality of other ones of thecomputer terminals 12 b-12 d for display on respective ones of thedisplay devices 18 b-18 d that are associated with the other ones of thecomputer terminals 12 b-12 d.

Thereafter, vehicular financial data units are inputted to at least oneresponding one of the other ones of the computer terminals 12 b inresponse to the vehicular characteristics data units displayed on thedisplay device 18 b of the at least responding one of the other ones ofthe computer terminals 12 b-12 d. The vehicular financial data unitsrepresented by arrow “C” are transmitted through the processor 14 and tothe first one of the computer terminals 12 a for display on the displaydevice 18 a associated with the first one of the computer terminals 12a.

As noted, only certain other computer terminals 12 b-12 d received thevehicular characteristics data units while the computer terminals 12e-12 f did not receive the vehicular characteristics data units. This isbecause a discriminator 20 is included in the vehicular data exchangesystem 10 of the present invention as shown in FIG. 2. The discriminator20 operates to select only certain ones of the other ones of theplurality of computer terminals 12 b-12 f to which the vehicularcharacteristics data units are to be transmitted. Having thediscriminator 20 incorporated into the vehicular data exchange system 10of the present invention permits automobile dealerships to receive onlyvehicular characteristics data units for vehicles in which they have aninterest. Thus, automobile dealerships that have no interest inpurchasing certain vehicles or no expertise in providing assessment datafor certain vehicles will not receive vehicular characteristics dataunits for such vehicles. Therefore, the automobile dealerships that usethe vehicular data exchange system 10 of the present invention will notwaste any time or resources reviewing the display device for undesirablevehicular characteristics data units but will invest some time only forthose vehicles with interesting vehicular characteristics data units.

In FIG. 2, the processor 14 of the vehicular data exchange system 10 ofthe present invention also includes a repeater 22. The repeater 22 isoperative in conjunction with the discriminator 20 to repeattransmission of the vehicular characteristics data units to the selectedones of the other computer terminals until the selected ones of thecomputer terminals receive the vehicular characteristics data units. Itis possible that one or more of the computer terminals are busy eitherreceiving or inputting data and, therefore, no vehicular characteristicsdata units are capable of being transmitted to the busy ones of thecomputer terminals. The repeater 22 then permits the vehicularcharacteristics data units to be transmitted at least one more time tothe previously busy computer terminal.

Also shown in FIG. 2, the processor 14 includes a first timer 24 that isoperative in conjunction with the repeater 22. The first timer 24 timesa first predetermined time period. Upon expiration of the firstpredetermined time period, the repeater 22 causes the processor 14 toagain attempt to transmit the vehicular characteristics data units tothose computer terminals that were previously busy and did not receivethe vehicular characteristics data units. It is possible that some ofthe previously busy computer terminals remain busy even after anotherattempt is made to send the vehicular data characteristics unitsthereto. The first timer 24 resets to time another first predeterminedtime period and, upon expiration of the first reset predetermined timeperiod, another attempt is made to transmit the vehicularcharacteristics data units to those previously busy computer terminals.The first timer can be set in such a manner that the repeater can repeatthe repeating process as often desired. It is preferred that the firstpredetermined time period is in a range between 3 and 5 minutes.

However, to limit the repeating process of the repeater 22, theprocessor 14 includes a second timer 26. The second timer 26 is operablyconnected to the processor 24 and times a second predetermined timeperiod. The second predetermined time period is longer than the firstpredetermined time period. Upon expiration of the second predeterminedtime period, the repeater 22 is rendered inoperative and, therefore,regardless of the interest of one or more automobile dealerships inreceiving vehicular characteristics data units, no further attempts atretransmitting these particular vehicular characteristics data unitswill be made, The second predetermined expiration time period can be anytime desired by a skilled artisan. However, an optimum predeterminedexpiration time period can be in a range between 15 minutes to one hourafter first attempting the transmission. This predetermined expirationtime period is considered optimum because a prospective automobilecustomer with a trade-in vehicle would, most likely, remain on anautomobile dealer's premises for this time period. It is beneficial tothe automobile dealership seeking vehicular financial data units fromother dealerships receive the same during the time period during whichthe prospective customer remains on the premises. Once the prospectivecustomer leaves the premises, any vehicular financial data units hasminimal value.

One of ordinary skill in the art would comprehend that most computerterminals include a speaker which broadcasts various sounds driven byappropriate software. The vehicular data exchange system 10 of thepresent invention includes an alarm device 26 which operates inconjunction with the speaker to generate sound. The alarm device isoperative to alert an operator of the other ones of the plurality ofcomputer terminals that vehicular characteristics data units arereceived and available for display on the display device. Further, thealarm could also be a video alarm that displays, for example, indicia onthe display device 18.

FIG. 3 illustrates a sample display screen 28 entitled “Request forBuy/Appraisal Figure” and shown on the display device 18 of thevehicular data exchange system 10 of the present invention. The sampledisplay screen 28 is formatted for requesting a buy/appraisal figure fora vehicle with vehicular characteristics data units mentioned thereon.The vehicular characteristics data units include a make, a model, a yearand a general description of the vehicle. Although not by way oflimitation, the description of the vehicle includes a body style of thevehicle, a color of both interior and exterior of the vehicle, an amountof mileage indicated on an odometer of the vehicle and a generalcondition of the vehicle with ratings of clean, average or rough. Othervehicular characteristics data units are vehicle identification number,i.e. VIN #, location of the vehicle, engine size and type, generalcondition of the vehicle, condition of the tires. Also, blank spaceappears on the sample data display screen 28 to write other types ofvehicular characteristics data unit including but not limited to otherequipment and remarks.

FIG. 4 is a second sample display screen entitled “Response to Requestfor Buy/Appraisal Figure” and shown on the display device of thevehicular data exchange system of the present invention formatted forresponding to the requested buy/appraisal figure for the vehicle withvehicular characteristics data units listed thereon. The vehicularfinancial data units of the vehicle include a firm buy figure from theresponding automobile dealership which is interested in purchasing thevehicle. Alternatively, the vehicular financial data units of thevehicle include an appraisal figure which indicates to the requestingautomobile dealer a fair market value of the vehicle. A skilled artisanwould appreciate that other financial data units such as a bid priceamount, an assessment price amount, a wholesale price amount, and aretail price amount could also be provided on the second sample displayscreen. Also, the requesting automobile dealership knows whichautomobile dealership responded to the request. Now, the requestingautomobile dealership can call the telephone number of the respondingautomobile dealership and speak to the contact who is also listed on thesecond sample display screen to arrange the consummation of the buy andsale of the trade-in vehicle. Thus, the vehicular financial data unitsof the vehicle further include information also identify a source ofvehicular financial data units that were transmitted in response to therequest.

With reference to FIG. 5, implementing the vehicular data exchangesystem 10 of the present invention is a software program that includessteps of a method of exchanging vehicular data of a vehicle. Step S110of the method of the present invention is inputting vehicularcharacteristics data units of the vehicle into a data inquiring computerterminal. Step S112 is processing the vehicular characteristics dataunits and step 114 is selecting select ones of responsive computerterminals to transmit the vehicular characteristics data units. Step 118determines if the responsive computer terminals receive the vehicularcharacteristics data units. If it is determined that the responsivecomputer terminals receive the vehicular characteristics data units,then step S120 is implemented. Step S120 is inputting vehicularfinancial data units into at least one responsive computer terminal.Step S122 is transmitting the vehicular financial data units to theinquiring computer terminal.

If it is determined that the responsive computer terminals did notreceive the vehicular characteristics data units, then step S124,waiting for a first predetermined period of time, is implemented. Afterexpiration of the first predetermined period of time, step 5126 isrepeating transmission of the vehicular characteristics data units tothe non-receiving ones of the responsive computer terminals. Thereafter,it is determined by step S128 whether a second predetermined period oftime has expired. If the second predetermined period of time has notexpired, then steps 5124 and S126 are repeated. If the secondpredetermined period of time has expired, step 130 is executed whichstops repeating the transmission of vehicular characteristics data unitsto non-receiving ones of the responsive computer terminals.

The vehicular data exchange system enables automobile dealers to quicklyand conveniently exchange vehicle characteristics data and vehicle salesprice data of a trade-in vehicle within a time period during which aprospective customer of the selling dealer remains on the premises.Cooperating automobile dealers could minimize or even eliminate the useof automobile wholesalers by using the vehicular data exchange system.The vehicular data exchange system would provide firm buy figures fromother automotive dealers within minutes from the time the vehicularcharacteristics data are disseminated from a selling dealer. Toeliminate computer clutter and wasting automobile dealership resources,the vehicular data exchange system transmits vehicular characteristicsdata units such as make, model and year of the vehicle to only thoseautomobile dealers interested in receiving such data. Use of thevehicular data exchange system requires only a minimum of time andeffort for all automobile dealers to buy and sell trade-in or inventoryvehicles.

Accordingly, the present invention has been described with some degreeof particularity directed to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. It should be appreciated, though, that the present inventionis defined by the following claims construed in light of the prior artso that modifications or changes may be made to the preferred embodimentof the present invention without departing from the inventive conceptscontained herein.

We claim:
 1. A method of exchanging vehicular data of a vehicle,comprising the steps of: selecting any one of at least three computerterminals operative to transmit to each other and receive from oneanother the vehicular data for display on respective display devicesassociated with said terminals as a data inquiring computer terminal;deeming the remaining ones of the at least three computer terminals asdata responsive computer terminals; receiving, from a seller, vehicularcharacteristics data units of the vehicle that have been input at anytime into the data inquiring computer terminal for display on itsdisplay device; processing the vehicular characteristics data unitsimmediately after inputting the vehicular characteristics data units bytransmitting the vehicular characteristics data units to the dataresponsive computer terminals for display thereon; receiving, from apotential buyer, vehicular financial data units for display on itsdisplay device, where the vehicular financial data units have been inputinto at least one of the data responsive computer terminals with amanual input device, where the vehicular financial data units are inputwith the manual input device in response to receipt of the vehicularcharacteristics data received by the data responsive computer terminals;and transmitting the vehicular financial data units immediately afterinputting the vehicular financial data units to said inquiring computerterminal for display on the display device of said inquiring computerterminal.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step ofprocessing the vehicular characteristics data units includes selectingselect ones of said plurality of said data responsive computer terminalsto which the vehicular characteristics data units are transmitted.
 3. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein the vehicular characteristics dataunits include a make, a model and a year of the vehicle.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the vehicular characteristics data unitsinclude a description of the vehicle. A method according to claim 1,wherein the vehicular financial data units of the vehicle include atleast one of a bid price amount, an assessment price amount, a wholesaleprice amount, and a retail price amount.
 6. A method according to claim5, wherein the vehicular financial data units of the vehicle includeidentifying information identifying a source of each data responsivecomputer terminal transmitting the vehicular financial data units.
 7. Amethod according to claim 1, further comprising selecting a subset ofthe data responsive computer terminals for receiving the vehicularcharacteristics data units.
 8. A method according to claim 1, whereinthe manual input device is a keyboard.
 9. A method of exchangingvehicular data of a vehicle, comprising the steps of: processingvehicular characteristics data units of the vehicle that have been inputinto a data inquiring computer terminal by a seller, by selecting selectones of a plurality of data responsive computer terminals to which thevehicular characteristics data units are to be transmitted, transmittingthe vehicular characteristics data units to the selected responsivecomputer terminals for display thereon; receiving, from a potentialbuyer, vehicular financial data units for display on its display device,where the vehicular financial data units have been input into at leastone of the plurality of data responsive computer terminals with a manualinput device, where the vehicular financial data units are input withthe manual input device in response to the vehicular characteristicsdata received by the responsive computer terminals; transmitting thevehicular financial data units to said inquiring computer terminal fordisplay on said inquiring computer terminal; and repeating transmissionof said vehicular characteristics data units to said select ones of saidplurality of responding computer terminals until said select ones of thedata responding computer terminals receive the vehicular characteristicsdata units.
 10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the vehicularcharacteristics data units include a make, a model and a year of thevehicle.
 11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the vehicularcharacteristics data units include a description of the vehicle.
 12. Amethod according to claim 9, wherein the vehicular financial data unitsof the vehicle include at least one of a bid price amount, an assessmentprice amount, a wholesale price amount, and a retail price amount.
 13. Amethod according to claim 12, wherein the vehicular financial data unitsof the vehicle include identifying information identifying a source ofeach responsive computer terminal transmitting the vehicular financialdata units.
 14. A method according to claim 9, wherein the manual inputdevice is a keyboard.
 15. A method for exchanging vehicular data of avehicle, comprising the steps of: processing vehicular characteristicsdata units of the vehicle that have been input into a data inquiringcomputer terminal by a seller, by transmitting the vehicularcharacteristics data units to a plurality of data responsive computerterminals for display thereon; triggering an alarm on at least one ofthe plurality of data responsive computer terminals that vehicularcharacteristics data are available for display; receiving, from apotential buyer, vehicular financial data units for display on itsdisplay device, where the vehicular financial data units have been inputinto at least one of the plurality of data responsive computer terminalswith a manual input device, where the vehicular financial data units areinput with the manual input device in response to the vehicularcharacteristics data received by the responsive computer terminals;transmitting the vehicular financial data units to said inquiringcomputer terminal for display on said inquiring computer terminal; andrepeating transmission of said vehicular characteristics data units tosaid select ones of said plurality of responding computer terminalsuntil expiration of a first predetermined period of time occurs.
 16. Amethod according to claim 15, further comprising the step of stoppingthe repeating step upon expiration of a second predetermined period oftime which is longer than the first predetermined period of time.
 17. Amethod according to claim 15, further comprising selecting a subset ofthe data responsive computer terminals for receiving the vehicularcharacteristics data units.
 18. A method according to claim 15, whereinthe manual input device is a keyboard.